Todd McFarlane's Spawn aired on HBO from 1997-99. A faithful depiction of McFarlane's popular action-fantasy-horror comic, this groundbreaking, (NSFW,) animated series won an Emmy for 'Outstanding Animation Program' during its third and final season. [more inside]
posted by zarq
on Feb 18, 2015 -
34 comments

In 2002 the Eltingville comic-book-science-fiction-fantasy-horror and role playing club made the leap from the pages of Evan Dorkin's Dork comic into an animated pilot for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, as Welcome to Eltingville. Sadly the series wasn't picked up, but the pilot is available on Youtube: part 1, part 2, part 3 (bonus title music by the Aquabats. Sadly so far the Northwest Comix Collective hasn't made the same leap.
posted by MartinWisse
on Sep 4, 2013 -
21 comments

In 1982 the manga, Akira (previously) , began its run. It would ultimately spawn a film that would lead the way for the growth of the anime medium outside of Japan. An attempted Americanized remake (previouslyer) was in production before being ultimately canceled.
The manga’s creator, Katsuhiro Otomo, in the meantime, had taken a 20 year break from long-form manga. It was recently announced that this break was coming to an end and that Otomo would be working on a new long-form shonen series.
posted by sendai sleep master
on Mar 29, 2012 -
30 comments

Two and a half years ago, we explored the early history of Cartoon Network... but it wasn't the only player in the youth television game.
As a matter of fact, Fred Seibert -- the man responsible for the most inventive projects discussed in that post -- first stretched his creative legs at the network's truly venerable forerunner: Nickelodeon.
Founded as Pinwheel, a six-hour block on Warner Cable's innovative QUBE system, this humble channel struggled for years before Seibert's innovative branding work transformed it into a national icon and capstone of a media empire.
Much has changed since then, from the mascots and game shows to the versatile orange "splat." But starting tonight in response to popular demand, the network is looking back with a summer programming block dedicated to the greatest hits of the 1990s, including Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and All That.
To celebrate, look inside for the complete story of the early days of the network that incensed the religious right, brought doo-wop to television, and slimed a million fans -- the golden age of Nickelodeon. (warning: monster post inside)[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 25, 2011 -
116 comments

"Welcome to the Zion Archive. You have selected Historical File #12-1: The Second Renaissance."
So begins the short film of the same name by Mahiro Maeda [Flash:12 - QuickTime:12] -- a devastating yet beautiful work of animation.
Originally produced to explain the backstory behind the Matrix trilogy, Maeda's project ended up telling a story far darker and more affecting than any blockbuster.
Using a blend of faux documentary footage and visual metaphor, his serene Instructor relates in biblical tones the saga of Man and Machine, how age-old cruelty and hatred birthed a horrifying, apocalyptic struggle that consumed the world.
Packed with striking imagery and historical allusions galore, this dark allegory easily transcends the films it was made for.
But while "The Second Renaissance" is arguably the best work to come from the Matrix franchise, it's hardly alone -- it's just one of the projects made for The Animatrix, a collection of nine superb anime films in a wide variety of styles designed to explore the universe and broaden its scope beyond the usual sci-fi action of the movies.
Click inside for a guide to these films with links to where they can be watched online, along with a look at The Matrix Comics, a free series of comics, art, and short fiction created for the same purpose by some of the best talent in the business. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Feb 14, 2011 -
54 comments

"Why so serious?" Synthesizing Mark Hamill's menacing hilarity and Heath Ledger's intelligent and dangerously unhinged aspects in their portrayals of DC Comic's "The Joker," aspiring voice actor "pgirts" recreates the famous scene from the recent Batman film in a chilling mashup of acting styles, and similarly brings the Joker's monolog from "The Killing Joke" to life. (MLYT)
posted by Slap*Happy
on Sep 2, 2009 -
38 comments

Tales of the Beanworld("A most peculiar comic book experience") recently resumed publication after a long hiatus. It's a strange and abstract mix of Native American mythology and culture, with a strong ecological focus, into an wonderfully charming cosmology. While it certainly invites, uh, overthinking, it's also entertaining on a purely casual level.
A sample short Beanworld story is on the Dark Horse Comics Myspace page.
If you have questions about it, the BeanWeb just may have answers, along with illustrations from the comics. There is now a Beanworld Wiki to supplement it, and creator Larry Marder keeps a blog where he talks about things bean.

Artist Tad Stones has started up the Hellboy Animated blog, which already has some great stuff up about character designs and style concepts for the in-production animated series based on Mike Mignola's comics.
posted by XQUZYPHYR
on Nov 16, 2005 -
10 comments

Hey, kids, let's watch a cartoon! May I present The Ship That Never Came In by Kim Deitch, comix genius. It's a piece with his magnum opus Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Both, as Time magazine's comix critic Andrew Arnold notes, focuses on Ted Mishkin, a talented animator whose gifts can never quite overcome his curse. His curse is Waldo, a mischievous cat who walks on his hind legs. Waldo may be a delusion or he may be real, but only Ted can see him. Wotta concept! More inside ? Fuckin' A !
posted by y2karl
on Oct 15, 2005 -
15 comments

Broken Saints is a beautifully done flash animation. A little anime in feel with some strange sonic diversions every once in a while. The pacing is a little slow for my highly Americanized tastes, but it's gorgeous all the same.
posted by willnot
on Jun 12, 2002 -
11 comments

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